1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of speech processing and, more particularly, to supporting multiple speech-enabled user interface consoles within a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cabin of a motor vehicle is becoming increasingly sophisticated from a technological perspective, meaning that various types of computing components are commonly embedded within motor vehicles. For example, in-vehicle computing components can exist which perform vehicle navigation, control an audio system, control a video system, control vehicle sensors and actuators, provide telephony services, connect passengers to the Internet, and permit passengers to play games while in the vehicle. Currently, in the motor vehicle environment, each unique functional component of the cabin is controlled by an independent computing system or console, which may or may not communicate with other in-vehicle computing systems.
As the in-vehicle user interfaces become more advanced and as the complexity of in-vehicle computer systems continue to increase, the cost of each of these isolated systems can outweigh their benefits. Additionally, customers will likely demand or at least prefer a more integrated experience which can be obtained by more closely coupling the in-vehicle systems to one another. Therefore, a system is needed that minimizes the hardware and software requirements needed to support multiple unique components in a vehicle while maintaining the high level of functionality and a decreased overall cost per vehicle.
This need is particularly felt in the area of speech technologies. Currently, speech processing tasks, such as speech recognition and speech synthesis, consume a significant amount of computing resources. Providing a plurality of speech processing systems within a single vehicle, each associated with an independent in-vehicle computing system, can result in compromises to speech generation quality, speech recognition accuracy, and/or overall cost.
Architectures of conventionally implemented in-vehicle speech processing systems, such as systems based upon EMBEDDED VIA VOICE SDK by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) of Armonk, N.Y., are limited to a single application environment. That is, each individual application controls an entire in-vehicle console system, which includes control over a speech-enabled user interface. What is needed is a way to enhance an in-vehicle application environment so that speech resource can be shared among multiple in-vehicle systems. Preferably, the enhancement can be performed in a backwards compatible manner that does not require the complete overhaul of an existing infrastructure.